'glitches' in dvds compressed using dvd-rb 0.70

[nick_harambee]

hello,

i am not sure if i am posting this in the right place, as i am not sure if the problem is related to dvd-rb. basically i have now successfully compressed a few dvds using dvd-rb/cce 2.50. however the last couple that i burnt to dvd have, in the latter stages of the film had quite a lot of glitches, by which i mean the video/audio stutters. with the first dvd, i couldn't reproduce the problem when i tried playing the dvd in another drive. but with the second i had the same problem with both drives. i went back to check the compressed vob files on my harddrive and, even though i only watched about 5 minutes of the dvd, i was unable to see any problems with the playback at the point where i was having difficulty with the burnt dvd. then i went back to check if i was still having a problem with the burnt dvd and now i couldn't see any problem - clearly the problem is intermittent. so i am unclear, as the problem seems to be intermittent, whether this is something to do with dvd-rb (and if so why does the compressed copy on my laptop seem ok), a problem with my external dvd burning drive (would a 'glitch' that was a result of burning problems always show up?, i.e. could it be intermittent), or a problem with the software i am using to playback, or something to do with the hardware on my laptop (i am not multitasking). here is what i am using:

dell inspiron 5150 3 ghz processor, 1 GB RAM
external DVD burner: Liteon 1633SX 16x DVD R/RW Dual Layer
dvds: taiyo yuden 8x DVD-R
media player: Power DVD 5

the dvds i have been burning were preprocessed using DVD shrink, so that i could compress just the movie. i am aware that this could create problems but as the compressed version seems ok on my laptop, i don't know whether this would have anything to do with it.

any ideas?

thanks

nick

[brashquido]

What are you using to burn your DVD's, and at what speed are you burning them? I used to have issues with Nero, so I switched to creating ISO's and burning with DVD-Decrypter at no faster than 2x . I have not had any problems since in 70 odd conversions.

[nick_harambee]

sorry - yes i should have said that - i am burning with nero 6, and i am burning at 8x. is it possible to get intermittent trouble with burnt dvds (i.e. sometimes it glitches, sometimes it doesn't)?

i will try dvd decrypter. can i create ISOs using dvd-rb? at the moment i am reauthoring using dvd shrink and then compressing using dvd-rb.

nick

[Jester700]

Could be a media issue - some cheaper media gets a little "froggy" toward the outside. A PC drive may be more tolerant of errors introduced this way than a set top machine.

[nick_harambee]

what do you mean by froggy? is 'froginess' something that i might see sometimes and not others? what is a set top machine? by media do you mean the dvd-rs i am using, because i bought taiyo yuden dvds as i was told they were the best quality

thanks

nick

[jdobbs]

This is almost definitely a media issue. DVD-RB doesn't treat the end of the disc any differently than the beginning.

Many blank discs have issues toward the outer edges (DVD's play from the inside-out, the opposite of a phonograph). That is one of several reasons why DVD-RB defaults to a size that is slightly smaller than will actually fit on a DVD-+R. These problems are often intermittent -- sometimes removing the disc and reinserting fixes it. Sometimes you can only read the last bit of data on the same drive as they were written.

Possible solutions:

1. Use only high quality discs (expensive).
2. Leave the target size for DVD-RB at the default.
3. Burn at lower speeds (e.g. 4x as opposed to 8x).

[nick_harambee]

thanks for the info

i am using taiyo yuden discs as i was told they are the best quality - is this not so?

the problems i am having is not necessarily right at the end of the dvd, but towards the end - on the last disc it was 10-15 minutes from the end of a two hour 10 minute film. does your argument still stand?

i have not changed any settings in dvd-rb - output size is typically 4.32 GB

i will try burning at 4x speed.

thanks

nick

[jdobbs]

Let me know how the 4x burn comes out.

[Added] I've seen Taiyo Yuden reported as good discs. I've never actually tried them, though. You can get them at a pretty low price, so I'd think there were more than one level of quality.

[candsh]

One thing I would like to point out concerning preprocessing with Shrink (and I am a Big fan of Shrink) is that I have experienced problems when doing movie only back-ups that you can run into navagational problems. Especially skip ahead and back chapters. This will cause hanging and skipping. If you just put the movie in and let it play it seems to play properly. The only button I have no problems with is the pause . That is why I never use shrink to do any of the preprocessing and opt for VOB Blanker instead and always let RB remove the languages and subs. Rb is designed for 1:1 duplication and any preprocessing is always with the risk of introducing problems into your finished product.

[dotcom]

I just thought I would add to this. I have been running several tests over the last few weeks. And have found that you must watch the burn speeds especially if you have modded firmware which will burn you media at faster rates then advertised. I had a movie in which I had the same problem. Burned at higher speeds it would glitch starting at about 1 hour into the movie and continue to do so for quite a while in a few of my DVD Players. Then it would work fine in others. Slow the speed down on the burn and they worked fine throughout.

[nick_harambee]

thanks for these messages. very helpful. i will try and burn a few dvds at 4x, even though the drive and the media are both 8x, and see what happens.

i was told that the taiyo yuden dvds that i was buying were the best quality (but they would say that wouldn't they!). they were about 50p each in a spindle of 100, though i've seen the same ones sold for nearer £1 per disc, so i would have thought they were at the top end. but i am open to advice.

candsh, what is vob blanker. is this a way of removing vobs you don't want before processing with dvd-rb? isn't this also preprocessing??

thanks

nick

[candsh]

VOB Blanker as I understand it, doesn't really remove but rather substitutes like 20 blank frames in place of. You can find a link for it in the VOB Editing section of the forum (same list that DVD RB is in on the main forum menu) I used it for removing unwanted video and have never had a problem with the result. Leaves the menu's intact though what they point to may be the blank frames you "Blanked" It will also remove audio and subtitles but it is best to leave this job to DVD Rebuilder. It has a complete user file in the Help/Read me files and will actually do a lot more than I have been using it to do. Prepares ready to burn files if the end product is small enough, if not, and most of the time not, load them into RB and let it fly

[nick_harambee]

thanks candsh,

i will try using vob blanker. it looks like i can use it to blank menus and titles as well so i just get the main movie. is there a good reason though why i should just blank additional video material (i.e. 'the making of....') and leave the titles/menus?

nick

[MaxT]

Menu is always good to have. Makes DVD more or less a-la original. And extras... well, you'll see them probably once (from your original DVD) and wont come back to them again, so why not skip them and make more place for the main movie?

And yeh, VobBlanker is pretty easy to use :)

[candsh]

It really all boils down to your personal viewing preferences. Personally I like to keep the menus simply because I can go ahead and start the disk while I am waiting on my wife to do the things she should have done long ago and when she finally gets setled, push the tab and let it go. I hate to have to sit and watch previews when they will not let you fast forward through them, ala Disney! and now even commercials!! I am glad I have some programs like Blanker that will simply let me remove what I have no interest in and go to the things I sat down to watch to begin with. Some argue you are not doing things properly unless everything is as the origonal. They should, by all means, keep everything, I have no problem at all with that. Me, I keep what I want and enjoy every minute of it...... you should too!!

[dragongodz]

getting back on topic. :)

what is a set top machine?
your standalone dvd player. NOT a pc.

i will try burning at 4x speed.
actually x2 would be better. 1 freind has a pansonic that only likes dvd-r burnt at a max speed of x2. another(who lives in the U.S. so i cant tell you what player he has at the moment) burns his dvd+r at x2.4 max otherwise he occasionally gets ones that dont play right.
also in another thread in the 1 click backup section i think it was lamster(this is going from memory) said his player also was not always happy with dvd's burnt at higher than x2.
that doesnt mean they dont play fine on a pc but a standalone player is not a pc.

[nick_harambee]

sorry that it has taken me a while to get back on this one.

firstly i should say that the problems that i was getting with playback were on the original dvd-r drive rather than on a set top machine, where playback seemed to be fine.

first i tried burning using Nero @ 4x (my dvd drive doesn't support 2x writing) and still i had a problem.

so then i took brashquido's advice and switched to creating ISOs using ImgTool and burnt at 4x using DVD decrypter, and have had no problems since.

So it appears that the issue wasn't the preprocessing using DVD Shrink, though I am now using Vob Blanker instead as this is quicker. Also it wasn't a media issue, or perhaps might have been a combined media/nero issue.

anyhow all is working fine now. thanks everyone for your advice.

nick.

[MaxT]

Hmm... Lately I've seen too many posts where people have problems with burning with Nero. Coinsidense? I don't think so...

[nathanaa]

Regarding your media, TY is top of the heap pretty much. I was using lower quality/el cheapo media, and am very happy with the 0 coasters I have burnt since I switched to TY (~500 discs so far and counting). I used to get about a 10% coaster rate.

Check out nomorecoasters.com for great info on the different classes of media. Your Taiyo Yuden shouldn't have been part of your problem I don't think. Good luck.